24 June 2026
Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66.80
Today we are celebrating the birthday of a great prophet, and more than a prophet – the Forerunner, the Precursor to Christ our Lord himself. The voice which would become “the voice crying out in the wilderness” cried out for the first time as little John emerged from his mother's womb. The Lord had shown great mercy to Elizabeth, and soon he would show mercy to Israel through her newborn son. “Comfort, comfort my people, speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.” These words were meant for John, and would find him in the wilderness some years later. They would find him ready, still young: strong in body and in spirit. And John would respond by “proclaiming a baptism for the forgiveness of sins”. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight: bear fruits in keeping with repentance; whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise” … and whoever has power over others, let him not abuse it.
It is wonderful to have the Baptist as a Patron Saint. The Eastern Orthodox say that we in the Latin West make too much of St Joseph. They are wrong: but it should perhaps give us a pause. Our rightful veneration for St Joseph should not come at the expense of the Baptist, I dare say. As we heard this morning at Vigils, apart from the Lord himself, Mary his blessed Mother and John the Baptist, the Liturgy celebrates nobody else's birthday. In days gone by, every Latin Rite church had shrines dedicated to Our Lady and St John flanking the main sanctuary. John is the Friend of the Bridegroom; the Church is the Bride. Every Christian community therefore needs John's protection and help. He comes and awakens those in need of awakening, frightens those who need to be frightened, consoles those who need to be consoled, inspires those in need of inspiration, shocks those who need to be shocked out of their complacency. He is the Friend who prepares the Bride for her wedding, for the arrival of the Bridegroom. As such, St John is the Prophet. He summarises the Old Covenant for us Gentiles in a simple proclamation, and seals that proclamation with one simple rite of baptism.
But it is all the more wonderful to have the Baptist as our Patron Saint, because this is not your regular parish, but a monastery, and we are monks. This small monastic community, us, we are also a church, of course. Not merely a tiny part of the great Universal Church, but a church – we make the capital “C” Church present in this particular place and time, above all when celebrating the Eucharist. We make her present as the Body of Christ, together with Our Lady, all the Angels and Saints, and the souls in Purgatory: especially those buried here or in some way connected to us. But as monks we also make her present in a particular way, and in this we align with the Baptist's mission even more closely. Just like his witness and charism, ours also is prophetic in character.
It's good to remind ourselves of this fact often, as it really helps in everyday life; helps making practical decisions; helps in the daily struggle with thoughts – especially when anxiety about the future, worries about the state of the Church and the world overwhelm us. It certainly helps me. A prophet is a sign, established by the Holy Spirit, pointing to God. A sign is just “there”. All it cares about, in so far as it cares about anything, is whether it is pointing in the right direction. People come and go, they can read the sign or ignore it at their own peril. In an important way, a sign really doesn't care what they do, as long as it gives out a clear message. It's just a humble sign, the rest is up to the Lord. A sign respects human freedom and dignity, the mystery of the human person; it is chaste with respect to the people who come near it. But: humble as its function may be, a sign is also greatly exalted by the association with what it points to. This is how prophets are friends of God.
So it was with John by the river Jordan; and so it is with us, here at Pluscarden. This monastery also is meant to be a sign. Together as a community we are “a prophet”. We proclaim something just by being here. We sing God's praises upward, joining with the heavenly choirs, and not for people to admire. We are putting the same effort in regardless of how many are sitting in the side-chapels. We guard our actions and our thoughts in order to be pleasing to Him, and so that the sign remains clean and easy to read. We focus on keeping this place alive and functioning, in very practical, down-to-earth ways. It's all just maintenance, the necessary maintenance of a sign; the rest is beyond our scope; the rest is in the hands of the Lord.
An anecdote comes to mind. I have recently read a biography of Iulia de Beausobre, a well-known aristocratic exile from Soviet Russia. She was once talking to an enthusiastic clergyman. That was back in the early 70's, more than half a century ago now. The clergyman was very keen on bringing “the masses” back into the church. “You realize that it's impossible to achieve this without some form of coercion”, she responded. He rushed to assure her that he wanted nothing to do with coercion. The goal could be achieved by making the church more enticing, he said. “Ah”, she retorted sarcastically, “not coercion then, but prostitution!”
Our great Patron Saint, John the Baptist, was a prophet, a sign. A strong man, forceful at times, but never coercive. Though he became very popular in a strange sort of a way, he nevertheless made absolutely no attempt at enticing anybody, as that would amount to prostituting himself and, worse still, prostituting the message entrusted to him. Instead, John was chaste, hard on himself and hard on those who thought they knew, and therefore felt superior. But he was easy and encouraging to people genuinely seeking God and his righteousness. We should look to him for inspiration, and pray for his guidance and protection.